Trust exemption, cash donations, and prospective tax rate ruling favour the assessee on all major issues.

A trust was held entitled to exemption under sections 11 and 12 where registration under section 12AA was granted before completion of assessment and the earlier year's proceedings were still pending, with the trust's objects and activities unchanged. Cash donations recorded in the return, accounts, ledger and receipts could not be treated as unexplained cash credit under section 68 merely because they were received in cash, and the addition was deleted. The special rate under section 115BBE was held inapplicable to assessment year 2017-18 because it operated prospectively from 01.04.2017, so the income could not be taxed at the enhanced rate.

---

---

Issues: (i) Whether the assessee trust was entitled to exemption under sections 11 and 12 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for the relevant year despite registration under section 12AA being granted later; (ii) Whether donations received in cash and disclosed in the books could be brought to tax as unexplained cash credit under section 68; (iii) Whether the special tax rate under section 115BBE could be applied to the assessee's income for assessment year 2017-18.

Issue (i): Whether the assessee trust was entitled to exemption under sections 11 and 12 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for the relevant year despite registration under section 12AA being granted later?

Analysis: The proviso to section 12A(2), inserted with effect from 01.10.2014, was read along with CBDT Circular No. 1/2015 to hold that registration granted in a later year applies to earlier assessment years where the assessment proceedings were pending on the date of registration, provided the objects and activities remain the same. The assessee had obtained registration under section 12AA before completion of assessment, and the relevant proceedings were pending.

Conclusion: The issue was decided in favour of the assessee, and exemption under sections 11 and 12 was held allowable.

Issue (ii): Whether donations received in cash and disclosed in the books could be brought to tax as unexplained cash credit under section 68?

Analysis: The donations were reflected in the return, income and expenditure account, and ledger records with donor details and receipts were produced. The audited books were not rejected, and no doubt was raised about the trust's objects or activities. In these circumstances, the donations, being part of disclosed religious receipts, could not be treated as unexplained cash credit merely on suspicion.

Conclusion: The issue was decided in favour of the assessee, and the addition under section 68 was deleted.

Issue (iii): Whether the special tax rate under section 115BBE could be applied to the assessee's income for assessment year 2017-18?

Analysis: The provision was held to operate prospectively from 01.04.2017 for future transactions, and could not be applied to income pertaining to assessment year 2017-18 under the normal provisions of the Act. The assessee's income for the year therefore could not be subjected to the enhanced rate.

Conclusion: The issue was decided in favour of the assessee, and the tax could not be charged under section 115BBE.

Final Conclusion: The assessee succeeded on all material issues, resulting in deletion of the additions and relief from the special rate of tax.

Ratio Decidendi: Where registration under section 12AA is granted while assessment proceedings for an earlier year are pending, the benefit of sections 11 and 12 extends to that year if the trust's objects and activities remain unchanged, and disclosed donation receipts cannot be treated as unexplained cash credit merely because they were received in cash; the enhanced rate under section 115BBE cannot be applied retrospectively to the relevant earlier year.

---